Pioneer Corporation has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA, a leader in AI computing, to combine its 3D-Lidar sensors with the NVIDIA Drive PX AI computing platform for autonomous driving solutions in the near future.

3D-Lidar is a sensor that can precisely measure the distance to a remote object and detect the size of an object. It allows the shape of an object to be grasped, making it an indispensable device and the key to autonomous driving. Aiming to start mass production in 2020 onward, Pioneer is developing a high-performance, compact, lighter and low-cost 3D-Lidar sensor. It started supplying samples of the 3D-Lidar in September 2017 to car manufacturers, ICT-related companies, and others in Japan and overseas.

The NVIDIA Drive PX AI computing platform allows Pioneer to use artificial intelligence to handle the complexities inherent in autonomous driving. This auto-grade supercomputer utilises deep learning on NVIDIA’s most advanced GPUs for 360-degree situational awareness around the car, to determine precisely where the vehicle is, and to compute a safe, comfortable path forward.

A demonstration of the 3D-Lidar was conducted at the 2017 GPU Technology Conference Japan.